Big Red Car here looking for some labor love. Nah, I’m way overstocked in love, but I do want to talk about how the labor picture looks in the United States.
The top line shout out is — low unemployment, wage gains, and more job openings than people to fill them, but the real picture requires us to look a little deeper. So, we shall.
OK, I get it. It’s not labor day, but we’re talking “labor” right? If you have a job, every day is labor day.
James Shaw Jr. is an American hero. Let me tell you about him, may I?
On this night, this man refused to die in a Waffle House at 3:30 AM. He refused to accept his fate. He took matters into his own, capable, strong hands. His actions saved lives, most importantly, his own. He is a great American.
The Antioch Waffle House shooting was an enormous tragedy, but from it emerged an interesting story – that of James Shaw Jr, an unlikely hero who went mano-a-mano with the gunman and wrestled his weapon from him, throwing it behind the Waffle House countertop thereby stopping the killing spree. At 3:30 AM in a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee this man found out who he was and he let us in on the secret.
James is a reluctant hero who makes no bones about the proposition that he was acting in his own self-interest. Faced with the highly likely proposition of death, James refused to go quietly into that dark night. If the gunman was going to kill him, it would not be without a fight. It is a strikingly American thought. We Americans will not go without a fight.
What did he do? He attacked the gunman when the gunman was dealing with his weapon – not clear whether the gunman was dealing with a jam or re-loading. James was smart. James picked his moment and acted.
Veterans have a special attachment to the American flag. Allow me to explain why.
Big Red Car here in a cloudy Austin By God Texas day with some reflections from a veteran on the flag of our great country. This is written to explain how enraged veterans may be over recent events which they interpret to be disrespectful to the flag under which they served and, by reference, disrespectful to them. The Big Red Car is not doing missionary work here, not trying to espouse a view, but trying to provide information for you to be able to understand how a veteran might feel about this.
“I want you to see how this became about the flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, veterans, and patriotism. It is not an illogical conclusion,” said your Big Red Car.
Firstly, this controversy was initiated by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he sat down and then, subsequently, took a knee during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner at the start of a San Francisco 49ers game (26 August 2016) . He explained his action thusly, “I AM NOT GOING TO STAND UP TO SHOW PRIDE IN A FLAG FOR A COUNTRY THAT OPPRESSES BLACK PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.”
His words are the glue that attaches his protest to the flag. The flag was being displayed during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. There is no necessity to look for linkages to the flag and the Star-Spangled Banner, they were there from the beginning. They were put there by Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick went on to say, “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
In this manner, Kaepernick drew attention to the idea that policemen killing innocent people should not be tolerated. He fleshed this out in numerous statements which identified specific police killings of black men.
Let’s stop for a second and reason together. Regardless of whether one agrees with Kaepernick’s actions, is there anyone in favor of cops killing black men? As a foundation value, that is not particularly controversial. Nobody wants cops killing anybody, if it can be avoided.
Russia, the Big Red Car is talking Russia today. Let me bottom line it, Russia is a punk.
Let me tell you why.
US GDP $17,947,000,000,000 — $18 TRILLION.
European Union GDP $16,220,000,000,000 — $16 TRILLION.
Russian GDP $1,324,000,000,000 — $1.3 TRILLION.
Italy GDP $1,815,757,000,000 — $1.8 TRILLION.
As you can see, the US and the EU (a fair approximation for NATO) has a GDP of $34 TRILLION v $1.3 TRILLION for Russia.
Hell, Italy is bigger than Russia!
Hello, world, you getting this? Russia is tiny when compared to the West. Hello, America!
In a few minutes, we talk about Volvo, Tesla, Jaguar, but now, let’s talk about a Big Red Car.
Big Red Car here on a post 4th of July let down. Ahhh, the Fourth was great!
Big Red Car chatting up the flag on the 4th of July. Quiet car time for all!
So, comes now Volvo with the announcement that the internal combustion engine is dead and it is going to phase them out completely by 2019 whereafter every Volvo will be either a hyrbid or an electric car.
The US budget, Big Red Car? Couldn’t you come up with anything more boring?
Big Red Car here on a perfectly delightful Texas day — convertible weather, y’all.
So, today, we chat about the US budget. [Boring, Big Red Car. Can we talk about … anything … else? No, dear reader, please be quiet and eat your vegetables. Act like an adult.]
This week the Congress passed a CR (continuing resolution) to fund the government through the end of September when the government’s fiscal year ends. It was a piece o’ crap, but that is not the story today. The story is what is a continuing resolution?
Predictions made by a Big Red Car, who has an uncanny ability to see the future and to keep you informed about it, y’all. Here goes.
The year 2017 is going to be YOUR year, dear reader. This year, you hang the moon, run the table, draw successfully to the inside straight, and you win. Winning — 2017 is going to be a great year to be a winner.
Ahh, and here it is, y’all.
Term limits? Big Red Car, term limits?
Big Red Car here in the great ATX on a cloudy day. But it is Texas and On Earth Like It Is In Texas, no?
So, the Big Red Car is an advocate of term limits and the poster child for it is Senator John McCain.
Let me elaborate.
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